Just because you read something online that fits your political narrative, that doesn’t make it real. Seeing people bloviate about the so-called furry problem in schools is an apt example of this phenomenon.
I work in right-wing media. My primary position is as a reporter for NewBostonPost, a conservative news website that covers Massachusetts. Working in alternative media, I cover weird and controversial news for a few reasons. One is that for a small news website with limited staff and budget, producing unique content is imperative. I also find reporting on the day-to-day operations of the state legislature mundane and think other, more experienced reporters with more resources do a better job than me. I know what right-wingers enjoy reading—and the state legislature funding free school lunches for all public schoolers this year and free community college for those 25 and older are not it.
Many ask that I cover the furry problem in public schools. People tell me they hear about furry students coming to school dressing up and behaving like animals. They hear that woke schools affirm their furry identity by installing litter boxes for them to use the bathroom—because that makes sense. Not only do these people believe that kids, in violation of school dress codes, show up to school wearing animal costumes, but they also act disruptively, bark at the other students, and demand that schools provide them with cat-sized bathrooms, creating extra gross work for the custodial staff.
None of this is common sense. Schools often enforce strict dress codes. Where are these litter boxes? Are they replacing toilets in stalls, or do these people think students relieve themselves in the open? Prominent right-wingers perpetuate the lie, including politicians. Since the list of public officials who’ve made this claim includes notorious spreaders of misinformation—around issues like vaccines, election fraud, and QAnon—I’ve no clue if they believe it or if this is another example of lying to voters and telling them what they want to hear. Probably a mix of both.
Some also say their kids tell them about furries and litter boxes in schools. Sounds like their kids must like playing jokes on their parents. When a friend took over a school committee seat this year, I advised him that regardless of what anybody says, anything you hear about furries and litter boxes in your school district is bullshit. He found it funny because some people in his Republican-voting town think this goes on in their district. If these people said it happened in Somerville, Cambridge, or an ultra-liberal part of Boston like the Back Bay or the South End, perhaps more people could entertain this garbage.
I understand why some may believe it. People see things in schools and libraries they dislike and think this is no different. When people see news stories popping up about tampons in boys' bathrooms, boys excelling in field hockey and girls' volleyball, and content about sex and gender identity they dislike in public schools, they may assume this is also real—especially if the people spreading the lies are people they trust on other issues. But it’s ridiculous.